Working Volunteer / Ending

Leaving well, and the door left open

Most people stop for circumstantial reasons.

People stop volunteering because their work changed, a family member became unwell, they moved, or their capacity reduced. Very few stop because they stopped caring about the cause, which means the relationship is usually recoverable later.

Making it easy to stop and easy to return is therefore worth doing deliberately. A volunteer who feels able to say they need to pause, without it being a difficulty, is much more likely to come back than one who disappeared to avoid the conversation.

That requires the pause to be genuinely available: a stated arrangement that somebody can step back and return without re-doing the whole recruitment process, provided any required checks remain current.

Keeping in contact with people who have stepped back, lightly and without asking anything, is what makes return likely. An annual note about what the organisation has been doing costs nothing and brings people back years later.

It is worth adding that people who leave on good terms are a recruitment channel. Former volunteers who felt well treated recommend the organisation to others, and in most settings word of mouth from an existing volunteer is by far the most effective recruitment method available.